INSTANT POT CHANA MASALA

November 21st, 2018

pin it!pin it!pin it!pin it!
Hey, are you one of those people that grabbed an Instant Pot during a Black Friday/Boxing Day sale and then… just kinda forgot about it? I might be a couple years late to this home cooking phenomenon, but I absolutely love my Instant Pot. It’s a dream for making extra flavourful broths (the foundation of so many plant-based foods), beans without soaking, brown rice and steel cut oats in a flash, creamy dals, risotto, and just general hands-off cooking. Once the holidays get going in their full swing, I think we could all use some nourishing, pantry-friendly (and obviously vegan) recipes that can be cooking away without the need for intervention or constant babysitting. Not exactly a newsflash, but I love that this machine gets things done so that I can focus on other things like snuggling my dogs or maybe folding laundry ;)

I find that the Instant Pot really shines with stews, dal, and other slightly soupy things. The sealed nature of pressure cooking makes for some seriously robust flavour. I freaking LOVE salt and my palette tends to veer over to salty tastes a little further than most. I find myself adding much less to concoctions that I’m cooking up in the Instant Pot, which probably isn’t a bad thing given my penchant for frequent chip consumption. With this chana masala, you get perfectly seasoned and evenly sauced chickpeas that are spicy, meaty, and perfect with a bit of flatbread or a scoop of rice. It’s exactly the right thing for busy, wintery evenings.

So yes. Even though most of my readers are Americans celebrating all things pie, mashed potatoes, gravy, squash etc. this week, I’m posting a homemade version of my favourite takeout. My logic here is that most of you will want something healthy and super easy once the feasts are over, so just tuck this one in your back pocket for next week when the holiday frenzy kicks in. For everyone else, this is just another amazing thing to make in your Instant Pot, whether well-used or collecting dust in a dark cabinet.

Let me know in the comments if you’re interested in more Instant Pot recipes, or frankly any other types of recipes–you all know that I’m pretty chill :) Wishing my American friends a warm and cheerful holiday week with family and friends! Love to you all.

INSTANT POT CHANA MASALA RECIPEPrint the recipe here!SERVES: 4-6NOTES: I like to sauté the onions and spices in oil to really get all of the flavour out of them. If you are avoiding oil, you can “sauté” this portion in water until the onions are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. You’ll have to keep adding water to the pot as you cook.-No surprise here, but I like to use Muir Glen’s fire-roasted tomatoes for this recipe.-I bet you could do this one in the slow cooker! My hunch is to put all of the ingredients into the insert (minus the coconut oil), give it a stir, and set to HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 5-6 hours.-My stovetop chana masala with lots of options for modifications is right HERE.2 tablespoons coconut oil1 medium yellow onion, small dice1 hot pepper, minced (I used a Hungarian Wax pepper, but use what you like)2 cloves of garlic, minced2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced1 strip of lemon peel, minced1 teaspoon ground cumin1 teaspoon ground coriander1 teaspoon ground turmeric1 teaspoon curry powder1 14.5-oz can crushed tomatoes (or 1 ½ cups)3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained (from roughly 2 15-oz cans)1 ¼ cups filtered watersea salt and ground black pepper, to tastechopped cilantro, for garnishSet the Instant Pot to “sauté” mode at “normal” and add the oil to the pot. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. To the pot, add the hot pepper, garlic, ginger, lemon peel, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and curry powder. Stir to combine. Keep stirring and cooking the onion and spice mixture for 4-5 minutes, or until spices appear slightly darkened and are quite fragrant.Add the crushed tomatoes to the pot and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Let this mixture come to a boil. Add the chickpeas, water, salt, and pepper and stir one more time. Cancel the sauté function.Lock the lid on the Instant Pot and ensure that the valve is in the “sealing” position. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on manual mode (at “normal” temperature). Set the timer for 6 minutes. Once the time is up, let the pressure release naturally.Remove the lid from the Instant Pot and stir the chana masala. If you’d like it to be thicker, set the machine to “sauté” mode and simmer until it is reduced to your liking. Adjust the instant pot chana masala for seasoning and serve immediately with chopped cilantro, rice, flatbread etc.

I love your way with food! Colorful, nutritious, vegan and indulgent all at the same time. Simply stunning. And you are a brilliant photographer and food stylist. May I ask what is the make of that gorgeous blue spotted plate? I need that beauty in my kitchen!ReplyCancel

Hi Francene,
Thank you so much for your kind compliments. My plate is from Ikea and I got it a couple years ago. I’m not sure if they still sell them.
-LReplyCancel

Kevin Garland21/11/2018 - 10:54 am

Yes yes, please send more instant pot recipes. I’m entertaining a family of vegans over the holidays, and being able to make a meal in the morning and leave it for themday while we play is just so helpful. Absolutely love your blog and the cookbook.ReplyCancel

Kathy21/11/2018 - 10:59 am

Yes, please, more Instapot recipes. So far I have had some difficulties the last 2 times I tried using it. So I would appreciate more of your recipes since they work!ReplyCancel

This looks yummy thank you! And yes I’m one of those people that bought an IP a couple years ago.. it sits on a shelf most of the time collecting dust instead of making meals, so please share more recipes! Always nice to have veg recipes because most IP stuff came out for non-veg things. Thank you! So many of your recipes are on a heavy rotation in my house!ReplyCancel

Hi Shilpa! I haven’t made this recipe with dried chickpeas, but from some Googling, here’s roughly the strategy I would use:
-soak 1 cup dried chickpeas the night before making this recipe (add them at the same point stated in the recipe)
-Increase the amount of water to 2 1/4 cups
-Increase pressure cooking time to 30 minutes

I can’t guarantee results here unfortunately, but if I was attempting the recipe with dried chickpeas, this is the direction I would go in. Let me know how it goes if you try!
-LReplyCancel

You can cook (brown) rice at the same time using a trivet and another container. Also, I cook dried chick peas without soaking them all the time. The ratio of bean to water is in the booklet.ReplyCancel

I haven’t used the trivet to cook grains separately yet, but I need to buck up and just do it! Thanks for the reminder :)
-LReplyCancel

Aleisha21/11/2018 - 2:14 pm

Yes, please, please, please more Instant Pot recipes. It is so difficult to find delicious vegan recipes for the Instant Pot and slow cooker so it would be wonderful if you post some more. I can’t wait to try this one!!!ReplyCancel

Renée21/11/2018 - 7:04 pm

I am resisting buying another piece of equipment cause, well, my kitchen is small and I prefer to do with less stuff overall. But that looks wonderful so I will compare the ingredients from this recipe and those from your stovetop one and go from there.
BTW On my stovetop is currently simmering your chili from the book, one of our favourites!
Cheers ‍ReplyCancel

I totally get that re: amassing kitchen equipment. Frankly, my kitchen is too small to have an Instant Pot and I have to haul it up from the basement every time I use it. My stovetop chana masala is quite similar! If you replace the chopped yellow tomatoes with canned crushed fire-roasted ones, you’re pretty much there ;) So glad you’re enjoying the chili from the cookbook too.
-LReplyCancel

Christina21/11/2018 - 11:20 pm

Yes please, more IP recipes! I agree that it makes cooking healthy foods even easier. This looks great and it will make a tasty side dish for left-over turkey this weekend.ReplyCancel

Jessica22/11/2018 - 12:55 am

Chana masala is my fav!! I have a ‘lightly’ used instant pot I bought when my slow cooker broke, so def interested in more instant pot recipes too :)ReplyCancel

Cynthia22/11/2018 - 12:00 pm

What size instant pot do you use? We’re looking at getting one, but aren’t sure if we should get the 6 quart or 8 quart one. Also, your recipes are delish!ReplyCancel

Thank you for posting this recipe using an Instant Pot! I AM one of those people that bough an instant pot on Black Friday and I am very eager to use it to make nutritious, vegan meals. I find most of the recipes out there have meat in them, so more vegan recipes on your blog for Instant Pot would be so helpful!

This looks really good! I’ve made this before but never in an instant pot so will give this a try. I’ve also replaced the chickpeas with a mixed bean blend and had kind of a bean chilli / curry hybrid which was surprisingly good! Thanks for the share.ReplyCancel

Katie26/11/2018 - 7:19 pm

Would love more Instant Pot recipes! I love that thing, and it makes the BEST rice.

I would love to see some more IP recipes from you please. I have a couple of recipes in rotation, but I’ve also found that onions can take on a metallic flavor, and I’m hoping your recipes can get me beyond that. Thanks.ReplyCancel

Honestly not sure! This has never happened to me and I haven’t received that feedback from anyone else with this recipe. What size is your Instant Pot? Was there any liquid left in the pot when you opened it back up?
-LReplyCancel